Film-storage cabinet



Feb. 10, 1925. 1.525390 E. W. SALMON, JR I FILM STORAGE CABINET OriginalFiled May 31, 1918 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 E. W. SALMON, JR

FILM STORAGE CABINET Original Fi ed May 1918 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lie)Patented Feb. 10, 1925.

UNITED s P QFFICEE EDWARD -W. SALMON," JR; or BAII LIMOR EyMARYLAND, Assren-on, "BY MESNE AssIGNMENTs,--ToAMERICAN'FIIJMSAFE- CORPORATION, AGORPORATIQN QF'MARY LAND.

Fi'LM SToBJAGE" CABINE'E.

Application'filed'May 31,1918, 582mm. 2371551." Renewed ali fi's't'r,192 i.

fl '0 all who in it may concern) have invented certainne'wf and usefulIm provements 1n Filn'rst'orage Cabinet's, of which the following is aspecification.

The invention relates to" a'filni storage" cabinet. I I II The object ofthe present invent onisto improve the construction "of film storagecabinets more specially the means for 1101a ing the film spools andtoprovide a 'sim'plef practical and eflident filin. storage caloinetf I III I II I which the door of the 'cahiriet mayhe lo'chd Without dangerofeXplosion in th e cab iii incident to fire; therebeing ineaiispitiv'idedto opra'te' automatically in'the event of lire I provi'ded'with aswinging door and equipped With meansconnectedwith and operated by thedoor for holding :the film spool to'with draw the same fromithecompartment when the door is opened and to carry the f holding meansinto'the compartmentwhen the door is closed;

A further object of the inVentioIf is to provide a construction of'th scharacter adapted to be operatedby a swinging-door and capable, at thesamet1n1e,*of enablinga compartment to be used'having a height pactarrangement'o-f the filmobta-inedf" Another object of the inventionresides'i r a film or other fil'ng cabinet*,teinhodying among othercharacteristics, a cabinet '1n' which is mounted arecord holder hatingconnection with the door so that wheifthe" door isopenedthe' holder 'isgiven a com-* pound movement from normal position I I longitudinally oftheconifiartmentj through the door opening, the connection betweenthe'door 'andthe holder causing the holder to travel forwardly and inits travel roll forwardly through the door opening to permit readyaccess to the-"record in "the holder.

Another object is t0 provide *"a filrn :01 other record cabinetin'flwhich' a recordholder is mounted to normally gravitateto' againstits gravitating characteristics sothat upon release of the door'thegravitatingmovement of the holder will effect an auto matic closing ofthe door;

One object of the'invention' isto' provide ing adapted to "pull theclosi is illustrated one embodiment-of the iifi en a j cabinetft'or thefiling?andfIstoijage "of "mo" tion picture films'or the 'likefpijbv'idedwith* a closure and equipped I With""nr ea is forfthe reception "andsupplort of the 'filiiis pr m-6; I like and which issttingingly moun edaiidfto Which has connection with tlie closii to be shifted 'forwardlyheliit e lostire' opened? and the l1ol'tle13' 'by virtue of itsmounting" and connection Vith th e" do r", be

' I itoc'ldedfp sitio'n tvhe'n the operator releases th'e "closi A stillfurther object of the inventionf're sides inthe provision of a onet-Whichisconstructedfof the proof mat altind in to perniit'the freeandreadyescaiieof gases and fu-mes from the "cabin-clif I I I I I IWV'i'th the above and other objects in vie w the present inventionconsists in the coinbi-f nation andarmn efienrbrim-ts1161mm er pointedout in the ap ended mime; understood that changesin'ay hem-a ,"111 the'lorm, size, proportion and miii details Without departing irofrfthespirit or saci ficing any of the advantagsbf the intertion. I

In-thedraWiIigs I I Figure-1 is a perspectii e iea bifa 01 a "filmstorage cabinet"constructed iii ac cordance 'With this inventihhf-oneof' the"-' oloors'bein'g open;

Fig: 2 "is a Vertical sectional View taken Fig. 3 is atransverse"sectionalvixtof one of the "compartments and 'thefilm' spool"9 carrying device;

Figs. land5 are detailiie-Ws illustrating the construction ofthe-jainbt'raniei In the accoinpanying drawingefin which ton, the film spoolorrecord"e m-yin'gx1e" vicecomprises iii-its constructio holder 1constructed of suitablemateiial prefer ably metal and'compo'se'd' or"spaced ""sitles2' and'a curved peripheral"connecting orticmnof, 3connecting-the sidesatthc front, rear and 'bottom edges thereoiixTheholder'is 'open at the topto enable: a film spool jor'other record 4 tobe readily placed theieiiiahd i'cT-"' moved"therefrom When the' door 5"of the compartment 6 of the film storage cabinet 7 s open, asillustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawlngs.

The holder 1 has a floating action and to effect this floating action,the holder is supported by crossed oppositely inclined links 8 and 9which are substantially oblong. The front link 8 is inclined upwardlyand rearwardly and is composed of spaced sides and a connectingtransverse front pivot portion 10 being pivoted at the front of the baseplate 11. The rear or upper terminals 12 of the sides of the link 8 arebent inwardly to form pivots, which are arranged in a suitable bearing13 located at the back of the holder below the horizontal plane of thecenter of the same when the door is closed as clearly shown in Fig. 2 ofthe drawings. It will be noted that the link 8 is of greater length thanthe link 9, for a purpose presently explained.

The base plate 11 is constructed of metal or other suitable material andit is provided with side flanges 14: and with front and rear bearings 15and 16 for the reception of the pivot 10 of the link 8 and the pivot 17of the link 9. The rear link 9, which is composed of spaced sides andthe transverse pivot portion 17 extends upwardly and forwardly from therear bearing 16 to the front portion of the holder 1 and its upper orfront terminals 18 are bent inwardly at right angles to form pivotsmounted in suitable bearings 19 at the front of the holder 1 and at apoint below the horizontal plane of the center of the holder when thedoor is closed.

By the above mentioned arrangement of links, the holder is mounted for afloating movement and when it is drawn forwardly by the downwardswinging of the door 5 it is partially rotated or rolled as it floatsthrough the door opening. This is accomplished through the operation ofthe crossed links 8 and 9 to carry its open top to the front and arrangethe open top of the holder at an inclination at the open front of thecompartment to afford ready access to th film spool or other record andenable the same to be easily placed in and removed from the holder.

The holder is connected with the door by a substantially oblong link 20composed of spaced sides and front and rear connecting portions 21 and22, the front connecting por tion being mounted in a suitable bearing 23of the door and the rear connecting portion 22 being arranged in asuitable bearing 24: at the back of the holder. The transverse portions21 and 22 form pivots and the connecting link 20 is arranged at a slightinclination and extends upwardly and rearwardly from the lower portionof the door when the latter is closed and in this position of the doorand the holder the link 20 is located below the horizontal plane of thecenter of the holder. The upper rear end of the connecting link isconnected with the holder at the back thereof adjacent to the upperedges of the same and the open top of the holder is disposed at a slightrearward inclination when the door is closed. The holder is provided atits open top portion with flanges which extend laterally outwardly fromthe sides 2, as indicated at a for the purpose of engaging the sides ofthe link 20 when the door 5 is opened to a certain degree and therebyarrest the outward swing of the door and also arrest the forwardmovement of the holder at a point short of dead center. By thus limitingthe outward movement of the door and holder, and the holder having arolling motion upwardly to a point short of dead center it will be clearthat immediately upon release of the door by the operator, the holderwill gravitate downwardly and simultaneously close the door tightly.When the door moves to its closed position it is automatically locked bythe pivoted latches 2. located at the top of the compartment, the doorbeing preferably hingedly mounted at the bottom of the compartment asindicated at 25.

The automatic closing action of the door through the operation of thefilm spool or other record holder carrying mechanism may be increased byproviding the rear portion of the holder with a suitable weight whichmay be of any desired size and which may also be secured to the back ofthe holder in any suitable manner. he weight may be eliminated, in viewof the particular form of supporting means for the holder, and if usedat all it is for the purpose of increasing the gravitating movement ofthe holder.

The rotary and backward and forward movement of the holder enables thesame to be withdrawn from the compartment by the outward and downwardswinging of the door with but little upward n'iovement of the holder andit is not necessary to materially increase the height of the com'nirtment which is only slightly in excess of the diameter of therecord. Also by partially rotating the holder to turn the open top tothe front when the door opened it is unnecessary to entirely withdrawthe holder from the compartment and the forward and backward movement ofthe holder is thereby reduced to a minimum.

The movement of the holder is comparatively noiseless and withoutfriction and while the holder is shown peratively connected with adownwardly swinging door. any other suitable operating means may beemployed and it can be pulled out by hand without separate operatingmeans. More over, the degree of backward and forward and rotary orrolling movement may be coutrolled by varying the length of the linkstit) and their pivotal-points; Furthermore, the holder may be varied inform and with the crossed links may beemployed tor a-variety of purposeswhere the keeping of records is essential.

As shown in the accompanying drawings the holder rests normally in-aninclined position rearwardly of the cabinet and oil center asdistinguished from a perfectly hori- Zontal mounting. In other words, byvirtue of the arrangement of long and. short links 8 and 9, theparticular holder illustrated is caused to assume norm lly such aposition as to throw the open side'ot the holder rearwardly, the shortand long links coactingito provide for the upward rolling movement ofthe holder-when the latter is pulled upon by the connectior therebetweenand the door.

Thus it will be seen that the holder does not merely rock or swing fromside toside, but that it has acompound movement, that is to say, whileit is moving forwardly it is rolling or given a progressive partialrotutive movement.

In the event of a fire in this compartment, incident to the film thereincatching lire, it is not necessary to unlatch the door to permit theescape of fumes and gases in order to avoid an explosion; My inventionis such that explosions in the cabinet cannotoccur and smoke and fumescannot enter the room in which the cabinet is located as would be thecase it the door be opened in the event of a fire. As shown, all gasesand tumes in the cabinet, in the event of a tire therein, will byexpansion, operate and open the nor mally closed valve 28 to permit theescape of the fumes and gases to the atmosphere as clearly set forth inmy companion application tiled on even date here-with.

It will be understood from the foregoing that while the presentinvention is=designed particularly for the storing of motion pic turefilms that it is readily applicable for other filing purposes. Among themain objects involved in the present invention. with respect tostructural characteristics,it.may be noted that the holder is supportedin unstable cquilibrium, that is to say, that the holder is supportedout or" contact with the walls of the cabinet and has an easy free andflexible mounting as compared with. a rigid pivotal mounting. Thisparticular type of supporting means is such as to require a pulling or aforcing action on the holder to unseat it from its-position into whichit normally gravitates. lVhen the door of the cabinet which hasconnection with the holder is opened, the holder is pulled upon to move.forwardly toward and through the door opening and in this travel thesupporting means is actuated to raise and lower or partially rotate theholder so that there is a compound action given the holder in its travelfrom its rearward to its fo ward position, the compoundaction beingmanifest on the-return movement by gravity of the holder except that theaction is reversed. The fact is the holder .issupported at all times inconstant unstable equilibrium because the moment the door is released,the holder actuates the supporting simultaneously actuate the movablesupport- I ing means to impart an upwardly inclined rolling motion tothe holderthroughout its travel, and means to provide an engagementbetween the holder and the said connection between the door and theholder toarrest the travel of the holder and limit the outward movementot the door prior to travel of the holder past dead center whereby topermit automatic return movement of the holder and door upon release ofthe door.

2. The combination of a cabinet provided with a hinged door, a holder inthe cabinet, the holder having a lateral projection, means forswingingly supporting the holder in the cabinet, a connection betweenthe door and the holder to pull upon the holder and cause it to travelforwardly through the door opening when the door is opened andsimultaneously actuate the swinging supportingmeans to impart a rollingmotion to the holder throughout its travel, the forward travel of theholder being limited at a point short of dead center of movement of theholder by said projection contacting with the connection between thedoor and the holder.

The combination of a cabinet provided with a hinged door, a holder inthe cabinet.

ineans "For movably supporting the holder in the cabinet, a connectionbetween the door and the holder to cause the holder to travel forwardlythrough the door opening when the door is opened and simultaneouslyactuate the movable supporting means to impart a rolling motion to theholder throughout its travel, and means whereby to arrest the dualtorward and rolling movements of theholdor short of dead center.

4c. The combination. of a cabinet provided with a hinged door, a holderin the cabinet, means for lioatingly supporting the holder in thecabinet, a connection between. the door and the holder to cause theholder to travel forwardly through the door openingwheu the door isopened and to simultaneously actuate the said supporting means to imparta rolling motion to the holder throughout its forward travel, and meanswhereby to limit the outward swing of the door prior to the passage ofthe holder in its travel to dead center and thereby permit of anautomatic return of the door and holder to normal positions.

5. The combination of a. cabinet provided with a door, holder movableinto and out of the cabinet, and supporting means for the holdercomprising connecting members of unequal length connecting the holderwith the cabinet, and a connection between the door and the holder tocause the holder to move upwardly and at the same time partially rotatewhen the door is opened, whereby the hole er is supported in constantunstable equilibrium to exert a constant closing pull on the door at alltimes, one of said members being arranged to engage the holder at oneposition or movement of the latter to limit the opening movement of thedoor.

6. The combination of cabinet, a door hingedly connected with thecabinet. a holder in the cabinet, and connections between the holder andthe door and the cabinet to support the holder for a floating movementwhereby upon opening the door the holder is raised to a. point above itsnormal position in the cabinet and caused to float and roll in aninclined direction from its raising point forwardly through the dooropening.

7. The combination of a cabinet, a door hingedly connected to thecabinet, a holder in the cabinet, and means connecting the holder andthe door and the cabinet and opcrable upon outward swing of the door tosimultaneonsl raise the holder to a point above its normal position inthe cabinet and cause the same to move upwardly from its raising pointforwardly to project the same through the door opening when the door isopened, the upper edge of the holder lying parallel with and engagingthe connecting means between the door and the holder at the limit ofoutward movement of the door so as to limit the outward movement of theholder to a point short of dead center whereby upon the release of thedoor the holder gravitates to its normal position in the cabinet andautomatically closes the door.

8, The combination of a cabinet provided with a door, a holder, aconnection between the door and the holder whereby to pull the holderthrough the door opening when the door is opened, means for the supportof the holder which is actuated by the holder under the influence ofsaid pulling action to give the holder a partial rotative move- .mentindependently of the pulling action and simultaneously therewith, andmeans whereby the partial rotative movement of the holder is arrested ata point short of dead center so as to provide for an automatic closingof the door.

9. The combination of a cabinet provided with a door, a holder in thecabinet, oppo sitely arranged diagonally disposed links pivotallyconnected to the bottom of the cabinet and pivotally connected toopposite ends of the holder, one of the links being shorter than theother, and a link connection between the door and the holder wherebyupon opening the door the holder is given a rotative movement throughthe door opening.

10. The combination of a cabinet provided with a door, a holder in thecabinet, oppositely arranged diagonally disposed links pivotallyconnected to the bottom of the cabinet and pivotally connected toopposite ends of the holder, one of the links being shorter than theother, and a link connection between the door and the holder wherebyupon opening the door the holder is given an upward rotative movementthrough the door opening, and means for engagement with said connectionbetween the door and holder to limit the outward movement of the holdershort of dead center so as to effect a gravitat-ing return movement ofthe holder upon release of the door and a simultaneous closing of thedoor.

11. The combination of a cabinet having a hinged door, a holder in thecabinet, a plurality of members connecting the holder with the cabinetand the door whereby to impart a continuous, forward, bodily, rollingmotion to the holder when the door is opened, and means for limiting theforward movement of the holder short of dead ceu ter sothat upon releaseof the opened door the holder will gravitate into the cabinet andthereby automatically 'close the door.

12. The combination of a con'ipartmeni. having a door'opening, a hingeddoor "for the opening, a base plate mounted upon the bottom of thecompartment and provided with parallel upstanding ribs. crossed,U-shapecl links swingingly seated on said ribs, a holder pivoted to saidlinks and supported thereby within the links above the base plate, and acombination between the holder and the door whereby upon opening thedoor the U-shaped links are swung forwardly and the holder swung bodilyupwardly and forwardly to permit insertion or removal of records fromthe holder through the door opening.

13. The combination of a compartment having a door opening, a hingeddoor for the opening, a base plate mounted upon the bottom of thecompartment and pro vided with upstanding ribs, crossed, U- shaped linksswingingly seated on said ribs. a holder pivoted to said links andsupported thereby within the links above the base plate, and aconnection between the holder and the door whereby upon opening the doorthe U-shaped links are swung ton wardly and the holder swung upwardlyand forwardly to permit insertion or removal of records from the holderthrough the door opening, said links limiting outward movement of thedoor and holder short of dead center whereby upon release of the door,the door closes automatically under the influence of the holder.

14:. The combination or" a cabinet provided with a door a holder in thecabinet, a base plate on the bottom of the cabinet, having spacedlongitudinally disposed upstanding ribs, oppositely arranged diagonallydisposed supporting elements pivotally connected tothe ribs andpivotally connected to opposite ends of the holder, one of thesupportingelements being shorter than the other, and a link connectionbetween the door and the holder whereby upon opening of the door, theholder is given a forward movement through the door opening.

15. A holder for filing and storing records comprising a base providedwith spaced, parallel upstanding ribs, the ribs having seats thereinlocated above the base, a holder disposed over the base, oppositelyarranged diagonally disposed supporting elements pivotally connected tothe ribs and pivotally connected to opposite ends of the holder, one ofthe supporting elements being shorter than the other, whereby uponreleasing the holder, atter an outward pull thereon, the holder normallymoves rear- Wardly to its position over the base.

16. The combination of a cabinet having a hinged door, a holder in thecabinet, oppositely arranged diagonally disposed links pivotally mountedupon the bottom of the cabinet and pivotally connected to opposite endsof the holder, one of the links being shorter than the other, and a linkconnection between the door and the holder whereby upon opening the doorthe holder is moved forwardly through the door opening and whereby uponrelease of the opened door the holder pulls the door to closed position.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

EDWARD W. SALMON, J R.

